The Strange Old Feelings
by Anzu Rose
Summary: The girl smiled sadly at him, but when he returned the next day, she was indeed gone. But, it wasn’t like he cared or anything… [sasusaku] [post timeskip]


an: Now, all you fellow 'I read the manga' buffs will know what I"m writing can never happen :P. SPOILER WARNING (Sasuke is with Orochimaru, but this Fanfiction is going to pretend that Sasuke is training there for... four to five years instead of two (just to make it so Sakura is old enough to make it believeable). So, enjoy and all XD. 

... 

Damn that Orochimaru. Damn him to hell. Sasuke hated standing still, hated not doing anything. Since arriving at the Village of the Sound, training was his all consuming task. But all the sudden, something important comes up? What the hell is he supposed to do during free time.

Giving a sigh of annoyence he stared around the bustling streets. Honestly he hadn't really been outside of the fortress much… He barely knew anyone, for making friends was pointless at this stage. Wasn't he just going to die anyway?

Ducking into some pub he considered getting a drink. He wasn't really one to get stone drunk, but perhaps it would be good for him. Kabuto always said the kid needed to lighten up. Then again, Kabuto had a pretty sick sence of humor.

Sitting down at the bar he threw a coin at the nearest waitress, some brown haired girl, he didn't really care enough to give her a second look. She gave a nod and said in a shakey voice, "C-coming right up."

A sadistic grin found it's way to his face. Had word of Orochimaru's fearsome apprentice already gained so much bad press. He gave a soft chuckle as he took a small sip of his drink. Feeling the weight of a gaze, he looked up to find the bar maid staring at him.

"What do you want." It was more of a command to get lost then an inquery.

"Ohh… nothing," her voice had taken on a strange playful nature that for some reason unnerved him. "You are Sasuke-sama? Or- Err, Lord Ororchimaru's apprentice?" He nodded in return. "How exciting."

He shrugged, wishing this girl would find something else to do. "There are a lot of rumors circulating town about you, you know," she chimed, wiping down a glass. He looked up at her, and really looked for the first time. He supposed she was pretty, he never really cared about such things. Her hair had a strangly flat look about it, and it was very brown.

"If your hair is so hideious that you feel the need to dye it, honestly it probably looks better normal," was the first thing that came to mind. Her hands reached to her hair, and a blush stole across the girls cheeks. Her eyes narrowed and she placed her hands on her hips.

"Well, that's a very rude thing to say to a perfectly nice girl you just met!" she exclaimed, a teasing tone in her voice. It felt strange for someone to be joking with him, and just hearing casual conversation made him feel rather akward. "And how can you tell it's dyed anyway," she pouted, examining her bangs.

The image of a pink haired girl popped to mind, and a warm day on the bridge. She had been considering dying her hair, but was worried it would look too flat. He really didn't give a shit about her hair color, but somehow he remembered that. Shrugging his shoulders he responded, "I had a friend… She wanted to dye her hair… it…" then he decided he was being far to open with this stranger. Taking a sip of his ale again, he glared at his cup.

"Ahh," her voice sounded saddened. She leaned onto the bar counter and propped her chin in her hand. "Do you have any friends here?"

"I don't need any friends."

"Well that's a sad thing to say," she commented. "Then what is it you live for?"

He tensed up, this girl was being far to nosy. "There is something I must do," he said shortly, and began to rise. She bit her lip and a strange emotion of pained sadness flitted across her face.

"Wait! Have some food." She turned around to place an order. Raising an eye brow he continued to leave. "I'll pay," she said softly, "you look too thin."

A hot meal sounded good at the moment, but this girl seemed to be very good at lowering his guard. Something compelled him to sit, maybe it was just some small portion of him that missed human contact other then insane snake users. Whatever it was, he sat and waited for her to place some order. He didn't particularly care what he received. She turned around again with a nervous smile.

"I'm sorry to pry," she said, playing with the cup that was already extremely clean. She took a deep breath, "Is it true you were from the Leaf Village?" she asked in a rush, blushing scarlet.

He raised an eyebrow. "You've heard of an Uchiha clan around here? Yes, I'm from Kohona," he gave a small frown, he would have thought that was common knowledge. "It doesn't really matter, the Sound Village is made almost entirely of traitors," she flinched at the word. "What are you doing here?"

She seemed completely caught off guard by this question. One would have thought if she was going to pry into his past, he would do the same. She gave a sad smile. "I'm from a poor family. Very poor. I'm raising money to save my brother… He's very ill," she said sadly, but said no more. By his account, fair enough, he didn't really care.

He continued to sip at his drink, and pick at his food. It wasn't bad by any means. That small bit that convinced him to stay was enjoying it greatly. The warning was still telling him not to get to know this girl to well, to just walk away.

"Thank you for the food," he said curtly, standing up and giving a stiff bow. She gave a sad smile.

"Do you think you'll come back tomorrow?" she asked softly. He looked back and gave a little shrug. He didn't want to admit it, but he probably would. "I'm afraid I won't be here then, but it was nice getting to know you."

"Going home to your brother?"

"Ahh, I have two brothers, they both need me. The youngest," a dreamy look stole over her face and she giggled, "he's pretty useless. Can't leave him home alone to long."

His eyebrow shot up, "doesn't that make it hard to hold up a job?"

She gave a nod, that strange sad smile stealing over her features again. "Yeah, but it's worth it… I'll do anything to save my brother, I love him after all," some sort of longing rose in his chest, but only a small flicker.

"Sounds like you have lucky brothers," he replied. She gave a mildly suprised look. She smiled, and he decided, he liked it when she smiled. Was this what he'd left behind? This warm feeling, that's was what he gave up wasn't it?

"Sasuke-sama, do you ever miss your old life? One where you weren't running?"

He was too lost in thought, he had to leave. "No, sacrifices are neccicary." He turned around, and began to walk away, shedding this thin emotion as a snake sheds his skin. The girl smiled sadly at him, but when he returned the next day, she was indeed gone. But, it wasn't like he cared or anything…

…………………………..

"Sakura-chan?" Yukiko gave her friend a questioning look. Sakura looked over at her partner, a girl like her, one year below. This girl was nothing special, an average ninja, whom hadn't gained much fame in the Chuunin exam, getting ousted in the third round (she did pass, mainly for her excellent use of standerd moves, and general stelth). In normal situations a fledgling chuunin would not be placed on such a high risk spy mission, but her mother was the best spy the Leaf Village had in their arsenal, and Tsunade trusted her apprentice with this mission.

"Ahh, our mission is over Yuki-chan," she replied. Her young friend jumped happily into her bed.

"Ohh! I can't wait! Being a spy is so stressful!" she replied with an adorable pout. Sakura laughed and ruffled the girl's hair. "And we didn't even find out anything!"

"That's not true," Saukra protested, rifling through her brain to think of something that they had learned other then the mundane life of the Sound Village. The memory that she was fighting pushing out of her mind, yet clinging onto kept her thinking slow.

"Sakura-chan? I-I heard you saw… Sasuke today," Sakura froze, the shirt she was flolding hung limp in her hands.

"Yeah."

"Are you allright Sakura-chan?"

She gave a false smile, and Yukiko knew better then to believe it. "Yeah, that's one reason why we're spying here right? So we can figure out how to bring Orochimaru down," she hastily finished folding the shirt. She felt her partner's small arms wrap around her, and she fought down the bitter feeling.

"He's gone Yuki-chan… And I- I'm fine with that. That happened a long time ago…"

The rest of the night moved in slow silence. The finished packing, and eradicated their traces, going about and closing up their loose ends, saying good bye to the few people they had talked to. Meeting up witht heir Anbu captain, Sakura handed over their notes, and the three took off back to home. Sakura put back on her headband, and locked her feelings behind the steel plate. Those would come in due time. She, Naruto, and Sasuke.

The story was not over yet.


End file.
